A Daily Dose of Insight and Common Sense

The most miserable of classroom assignments: there are always those who do the majority of the work, those who sleep on the job, those frustrated because their opinion doesn’t matter, and everyone shares in the graded outcome. Unions have stifled economic growth, suppressed innovation, and weakened the workforce. The workers only have the rights that labor legislation and the union permit. A person’s rights are surrendered to the union, and an individual has no right to choose representation, ask for a raise, or negotiate on their own behalf. Wages and benefits are decided by union contracts based on the collective; there is no meritocracy. Collective rights leave no liberty to the individual, no freedom to succeed, and no motivation to move beyond the mediocre. Those who don’t join the union are still dominated by it. Exclusive representation, fixed wages, and dues are still required. Their only difference: no union vote. The real “free-riders” are those who benefit from the talent and work ethic of others. Employees should sink or swim based on their own merits, rather than forcing everyone into the same boat. The government, courts, and unions, all try to answer the question, “What is fair?” Isn’t the individual worker the best person to decide what is in their best interest? This current system is pass/fail. We need the opportunity to surpass the set standards and achieve excellence.

If the market is in recovery, it is in spite of the stimulus, manipulation, and over-regulation by the government and not because of it. It only shows the resolve of the American people and corporations, our ability to adapt, our survival instinct, and our innate pursuit of happiness. We will keep going, keep striving for true progress, and keep disputing the oppressive power of the government over enterprise. We need a rightful separation of commerce and state. Oversight is now overstepping. It has gone from market protection to market manipulation, and continues on to market control. The excessive regulation power has become corrupt. Almost 3.5 billion dollars were spent on federal lobbying last year, proof that influence may be bought, and that amount keeps climbing. Legislators need to be reminded of who they work for. Campaigns may be financed, but our votes cannot be bought. The American people are not on the take.

When looking at the complete picture of current news stories, the climate change crisis is the piece that just doesn’t fit. All of the other news items are acute problems. Addressing climate change at this point with the global fervor it now has behind it is like treating a patient for baldness when he comes in because of a heart attack. It just doesn’t make sense how our main global concern can be for a planet 1,000 years into the future, when we are currently acting like there is no tomorrow. With nuclear expansion, terrorism, world wars, genocide, modern-day slavery, and the world economy crashing, why are we currently so panicked about the sea levels rising a few feet over a few millennia? If we don’t take care of the immediate threats, there won’t be a planet to save centuries or even decades from now. If we don’t take steps to save man, what good does it serve to save the planet? What piece really fits? The end game of those who cry global warming is simply for short-term gain — money, control, and influence. It is not about the planet, it is about power.

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Washington insiders create the plumbing framework behind the scenes and then use legislation to turn on the water. To adjust the faucet they pass laws, use regulation, and award government contracts. They manipulate the tax code and federal spending, put provisions on health care, and now we have the epitome of government serving self-interest in the cap-and-trade legislation. Those in power are financially investing in the agenda, influencing the outcome, and will soon be collecting the money that comes flowing in if it passes. While the rest of the country is facing a drought, the government is threatening to crimp the hose. Washington wanting to regulate Wall St. is simply the accusation of a guilty conscience, or maybe corruption just doesn’t like competition.

Those we need to run for political office are both honest and smart enough not to. The electorate is desperate to back a candidate who doesn’t even want to be on the ballot. They know the responsibility and sacrifice that comes with servant leadership and surrendered authority. They value family, prior commitments, and making a difference where they are. We are now pleading for those with the integrity and intelligence we need to represent us, to step out of their comfort zones and step up to the plate. For those who seek truth above power.

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Formal instruction warps the senses, such as an image refracted in water. But much may be gleaned from another’s perspective. There is a difference between being taught and learning, group think and being able to think for one’s self. Learning must be viewed through the clarity of personal responsibility. Good students are shaped in homes, not classrooms. They understand earning their education, without the expectation of entitlement. To respect the value of anything, one must be willing to work for it. Students must grasp the importance of truth and have a personal quest for it. The mind is independent; knowledge is a solo hike.

Especially when you have a law degree. The ratio of lawyers in Washington, DC is probably higher than anywhere in the world and even higher when Congress is in session. One of the prerequisites for political office has become passing a bar exam. Yet after being elected to office, politicians have no recollection of tax law, ethics, or professional responsibility.

I haven’t read it, I haven’t been briefed on that issue, or I just found out about it this morning.

We don’t want an official statement that has been combed through and manipulated by defense attorneys. We want the truth, simply put, and in plain English. Legal speak only comments on the surface of the water, we deserve to know what is lurking underneath. No more excuses. Transparency, honesty, and respect! Accountability begins November 2, 2010!

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With their poll numbers stumbling in the low forties and the coming election mirroring crazy, liberals are now set on the defensive. Congressional Democrats are now spinning on a Wipeout ride with the floor about to drop out from underneath them. They must have ignored the disclaimer signs: you must be this intelligent to ride, no one gets a free pass, and those being dishonest will be escorted out at the polls. There isn’t an anti-incumbency trend; there is a pro-involvement trend. People are stopping to pay attention and the uninformed party line voters are rethinking decades of ballot marks. Contested primaries are popping up all over the country and by 2012 independents will have wised up and chosen a side to retain their right to be heard. Registering independent only allows the fringe on both sides of the aisle to control which clowns are on the ballot, a strategy well-played by party ringmasters. The real election takes place in the summer, before the circus comes to town.

If the product isn’t selling, change the label. The rhetoric of the left is intentionally misleading. The names leftist groups use to label themselves or laws are deliberately deceiving, the guile disguised in a pretty package. Take a piece of liberal legislation, select one of the three thousand pages, water it down, sugar coat it, leave it half-baked at 180 degrees and you’ll have the title of the bill they are trying to sell to the American people and the congressmen who will never read it. One current example is the Cap and Trade bill, inaptly named The American Power Act. This un-American bill will restrict power, benefit other countries, and only empower regulators. If only we could get the FDA to put requirements on the labels for what Washington is trying to shove down our throats.

The earmark culture in Washington brings out the kid in all of us, strapped into the shopping cart with all of the sugary cereals placed just within reach. What we want taking priority over what we need. We wait like children at the door asking, “What did you bring me?” $18.5 billion a year is spent on congressional pet projects to appease the voters. With tantrums ensuing if our district isn’t getting what we feel is deserved. We need to dismiss the cartoon endorsed packages for ones with true character and real substance. It’s time to grow up and start buying cereal for its nutritional value, rather than the prize at the bottom of the box.

About

Although a few entries may be a little hard for some to swallow, my hope is to show readers a fresh perspective, by linking the issues and problems of today with analogies from everyday life.

I had taken a break from daily writing to realign my offline priorities. Gotta keep it all in perspective. I hope to make almost daily posts again and keep you clicking back to see newer posts as they are written. I know time is a rare and valuable asset, thanks for spending some of yours here.